RISE OF EROS

This time Andrew and the girls didn't want to go for a walk like they usually did, but instead decided to head straight back to the Heavenly Palace. None of them realized that they were being followed by the captain of the beauty hunters and his men.

Likewise, these men hadn't noticed that Oliver and Aki, along with the other three Heavenly Palace guards were following them. They were not only following them but evaluating when to attack.

Oliver had already given them a plan of action, but he had also told them that he was considering other options, so it was possible that Oliver would change the plan at the last minute if circumstances changed, so everyone was attentive and watching, not just the men that were following Andrew and the girls, but the environment.

After a few minutes of walking, Andrew and the girls officially entered the red light district and although they hadn't noticed anything strange, they knew that if they were attacked, it would generally be in this area.

Since they didn't know about Oliver's plan, they didn't know how to act to cooperate, so they just walked around as if they didn't know they were targets. It was difficult for them to act normally, because they knew that they could be attacked, what they didn't know was when and where, so they were nervous.

Oliver also noticed that Andrew and the girls began to walk strangely, especially Carolina and Helena. Until recently they were calm, but upon entering the danger zone they could not prevent fear from attacking them.

The captain of the beauty hunters and his men were hiding in an alley near where Andrew and the others were walking and as an experienced man, the captain noticed that there was something strange in how they were acting.

It took him only a few seconds to realize that Andrew and the girls were acting strange as if trying hard to act helpless, and he immediately yelled at his men, "It's a trap!"

His trusted men were surprised by the captain's shout, so it took them a few seconds to react, however, they had lost the initiative, as Oliver had been much faster.

From the moment Oliver noticed that Andrew, Carolina, and Helena were acting weird, he knew they would be found out as long as the other party wasn't stupid and the captain of the beauty hunters wasn't.

However, while he wasn't stupid, he had no way to compete against an accomplished general like Oliver. By the time the so-called captain yelled that it was a trap, Oliver had already reached the backs of these men and when they turned to run, they met him head-on.

The six men were surprised, but seeing that the other party was only one man, they drew their weapons and attacked decisively. Unfortunately for these men, their enemy was Oliver.

Andrew didn't know before how powerful Oliver was. He always thought that he was a great warrior, but when he found out about Oliver's past he understood that Oliver was very powerful because even in a small kingdom like the one he belonged to, a general is one of the most powerful forces.

What's more, when Oliver was captured and sold into slavery it wasn't because he met stronger opponents, but because of his blessing. His aura eyes are very convenient, but they use up a lot of energy, so he has to eat large amounts of food, and at that time he hadn't eaten for more than a week, so he passed out from exhaustion, and at that time he was unlucky to meet those who made him a slave.

Oliver also drew his sword, but this was not the katana he had bought the first time he went out with Carolina, this was the sword Aki had stolen from one of the treasuries of the former leaders of the area.

This sword was not a magic sword or a famous weapon, but it was definitely better than the katana he used. Like the skilled swordsman that he is, Oliver moved like the water surrounding the rocks in the river.

All attacks thrown at him were dodged with ease and he decisively counterattacked, slashing two of his attackers. The others realized that his opponent was not weak, but they were still confident, as they outnumbered him.

At least that's what the five trusted men of the captain of the beauty hunters thought since the latter was much more experienced than them and had noticed the abysmal difference in powers and was now looking for a way to escape in the confusion.

However, the captain made an unforgivable mistake on the battlefield, he did not pay attention to the surroundings. Ever since he discovered that it was a trap until Oliver's appearance, he had assumed that Oliver was the only enemy, which wouldn't be unusual given how strong he was, however, he was wrong.

As the captain was concentrating on finding an opening to escape he heard a soft whisper in his ear that said, "Just like Oliver said, the one staying away looking for an escape should be the captain."

These words surprised the captain of the beauty hunters, to the point of jumping scared. There were only a few people who knew him, but now the enemy knew about him, at least that was the last thing on his mind, since Aki had already slit his throat by the time she finished speaking.

Oliver knew that no matter what happened, the captain had to die, that's why he had told Aki before attacking to concentrate on finding out which of the six men stayed away and nervous, looking for an opportunity to escape because that would be the captain.

Not knowing who the captain was, the best plan was to kill them all, but Oliver wanted to avoid any eventuality, so he instructed Aki. At that moment Aki couldn't understand how Oliver came to the conclusion that the captain would try to run away and Oliver's response surprised her.

Oliver had told her that the fact that the captain remained hidden from his own organization showed that he was cautious, practically paranoid and that only happened when you were a coward or offended someone, but Oliver said it was more likely that he was a coward, because if he was in someone's crosshairs, your organization wouldn't be so arrogant to capture women in the daylight.

Although Oliver's words made sense, Aki was still skeptical, but she followed Oliver's orders and surprisingly the analysis was correct, the captain was a coward who had been trying to run away ever since Oliver appeared.

When the other men noticed that there was an additional enemy and that she had already killed their boss, they panicked, but it wasn't until the other three Heavenly Palace guards showed up that they realized they would not live another day.

Resigned, they ran like crazy trying to get a mutual kill, but they attacked the wrong person. Their attack was aimed at Oliver since he was a single enemy and they thought they had more chances against him than against the other four, but they were wrong.

"Aura sword, horizontal slash," Oliver said in a deep but low-pitched voice and took a bent stance and sword as if he were a baseball batter. When the members of the beauty hunters were about two meters away, Oliver fanned his sword.

The five men who ran towards him were surprised by Oliver's movement, as they were still too far away to be hit by that attack, and knowing that he would miss, they were happy, because after that attack, Oliver would be full of openings that they could exploit.

However, they celebrated too early, as a strange glow spread from the sword and in seconds it seemed to lengthen up to 3 meters. Due to the great technique and speed, the movement of the sword was leaving an afterimage and if you looked at it from above you could see a half-moon drawn by the sword.

This was one of Oliver's most potent techniques. It was a technique of his own, which he developed from his mastery of the sword and his blessing. Oliver's cut quickly severed the heads of the five attackers, who never knew what had happened.

Aki and the other three guards saw Oliver's great power, so they were stunned because they had never seen such power. Aki being the closest to Oliver, since they trained a lot together, asked, "What was that? Why didn't you take them all out with that from the start?"

The three guards nodded in agreement, sharing Aki's thoughts, but Oliver just smiled and said, "If you don't improve, why does the young master need you?"

This comment made Aki and the other three thoughtful. They were not stupid, they knew that, although they were slaves, their master never treated them as such, therefore, he expected them to improve and help him, however, if Oliver did everything, they were unnecessary, and that's why they understood why Oliver did not attack from the beginning with his sword technique.

Oliver looked at their faces and smiled because he knew they understood. Good soldiers need discipline, training, recognition, and experience. The Heavenly Palace guards had the first three, but they lacked experience, so Oliver let them participate.

Certainly, these three guards didn't fight, but not all experience is based on combat, at least Oliver didn't want to teach them that now, what they achieved in this campaign, was how to move and gank strategically.

That goal was accomplished, as they had tracked down the members of the beauty hunters and they had followed them for so long without being noticed and finally ambushed them, so Oliver was happy with the result.

With nothing else to do, they left the place, not bothering to deal with the bodies. Normally they would dispose of the bodies, but that was because they were too close to the Heavenly Palace and it could get them in trouble, but right now this place was still far from the Heavenly Palace, so they didn't bother.